INSTRUCTIONS TO RAILWAY TRAVELLERS - 1843

INSTRUCTIONS TO RAILWAY TRAVELLERS
   
APPLICABLE

To nearly all the Railways in Great Britain.

Proceed at once to the booking-office and procure a ticket for the class carriage you intend to travel by, and if near the time of starting, enter the departure shed.

Have your name legibly written on your luggage, and see it stowed away, and then take your seat in a carriage, carrying with you carpet bags or other light luggage, and wait till the starting bell rings.

Take care of your ticket to deliver at your journey's end, or to the attendant at starting, as the case may be.

The weight generally allowed to each passenger for luggage is about 100 lbs. and a charge is made for excess.

No smoking is allowed at the stations, nor in any of the carriages.

No dogs allowed to be taken inside the carriages, but they are conveyed in a proper vehicle at a small charge for each.

Do not leave your seat at any station, except the one at which refreshment is allowed, nor attempt to open the carriage doors yourself.

Females are in attendance at each terminus, and at the central refreshment station, to wait upon ladies and children.

Carriages and horses should be at the stations at least a quarter of an hour before the time of starting.

Post horses can always be obtained at each terminus and most of the stations.

Omnibuses, flys, coaches and cabs are always waiting the arrival of the trains at each terminus.

Children under ten years of age half-price, infants in arms, unable to walk, free of charge.

Every train is provided with guards and a conductor, who is responsible for the order and regularity of the journey.

Every guard, porter or policeman employed by the company has a distinguishing number on the collar of his coat.

The companies' servants are strictly enjoined, on pain of dismissal, to observe the utmost civility and attention towards all the passengers, nor are they to receive any fee or gratuity.

From: Henry Tuck, Every Traveller's Guide to the Railways of England, Scotland, Ireland, Belgium, France, and Germany, 1843

"No sound is heard in the cold air" - Observations on the arrival of trains in 1849

No sound is heard in the cold air but the hissing of a pilot engine, which, like a restless spirit advancing and retrograding, is stealing along the intermediate rails, waiting to carry off the next down-train; its course being marked by white steam meandering above it and by red-hot coals of different sizes which are continually falling from beneath it. In this obscure scene the Company's interminable lines of gaslights (there are 232 at the Euston Station), economically screwed down to the minimum of existence, are feebly illuminating the damp varnished panels of the line of carriages in waiting, the brass doorhandles of the cabs, the shining haims, brass browbands and other ornaments on the drooping heads and motionless backs of the cab-horses; and while the blood-red signal lamp is glaring near the tunnel to deter unauthorised intrusion, the stars of heaven cast a faint silvery light through the long strips of plate-glass in the roof above the platform. On a sudden is heard — the stranger hardly knows whence — the mysterious moan of compressed air, followed by the violent ringing of a bell. That instant every gaslight on and above a curve of 900 feet suddenly bursts into full power. The carriages, cabs, &c. appear, comparatively speaking, in broad daylight, and the beautiful iron reticulation which sustains the glazed roof appears like fairy work.

Sir Francis Head, Stokers and Pokers, 1849

"We would have the public…somewhat more mindful" a view on the benifits of railways from 1856

We would have the public…somewhat more mindful of the benefits they have already derived from the railways; it would improve their patience under evils for the time unavoidable…They save the public two-thirds of their time in transit, and two-thirds in fares and tills; they have given us the penny post, which would not have existed without them; they have intersected the country with telegraph wires employing 3000 persons, stretching a distance of 86,000 miles and flashing a million messages a year, many of them to and from places hundreds of miles apart; they have reduced the cost of many articles of general consumption, and rendered others common where nature seemed to plant an interdict against them…In 1854 they transported 111,000,000 passengers…in such safety that in the first half of the year but one accident happened to every 7,195,341 passengers. In these journeys, each passenger gains an hour in time, amounting in all to 38,000 years of working life at eight hours a day. Supposing the day’s labour to be worth three shillings, these deplorable railways save the nation £2,000,000 a year in the item of time alone.

Chamber’s Journal (1856), 227

Advertising Christmas: Posters for Christmas trains before 1914

London and North Western Railway - 1853

York, Newcastle and Berwick; York and North Midland and Leeds Northern Railways - 1853

Stockton & Darlington Railway -1856

Liskeard & Looe Railway - 1906

"Special Trains to London for the Duke [of Wellington's] Funeral" - 1852

This small article appeared in The Leicester Chronicle on Saturday 30 October 1852 in the wake of the death of the Duke of Wellington. The 'Mr Cook' is, I presume, Mr Thomas Cook, who in the period arranged a great many excursions in the period. Notice also that the train went via Derby, as the shorter Great Northern Main Line was at that point incomplete.

"SPECIAL TRAINS TO LONDON FOR THE DUKE'S FUNERAL - Although the arrangements for visiting London are not yet completed, it will be seen by advertisement that Mr. Cook is desirous of consulting teh convenience of two classes-those who wish for an opportunity of being in town at the Lying-in-State, and the working classes, who can only make it convenient to be present at the funeral. The Scottish newspapers announce a special train, under Mr Cooke's management, from the extreme point of the northern railway, commencing at Aberdeen, and bringing passengers from Montrose, Dundee, Perth, St. Andrews, Coupar Fife, Coupar Angus, Stirling, Edinburgh, Galashiels, Haddington, Berwick, and other towns. The whole distance from Aberdeen to London is about 570 miles. The train is arranged to reach Derby at 6 o'clock on Tuesday morning, November 16th and the party will stop here for an hour for breakfast, Mr Cuff having arranged to provide on liberal terms at the station refreshment rooms. It is hoped Mr Cook will succeed in promoting a spirit of reciprocity amongst those north of the Tweed who have benefited so much from his arrangements from these parts to Scotland."

'Watch Out' for Fagin and co. on a train - 1863

The Caledonian Railway's book of standing orders for the officer's and men of the company from 1863 is one of the most interesting railway instruction books that I have a digital copy of, as it contains rules that I have not seen anywhere else within the Victorian railway industry. Probably, the most interesting instruction is this one covering the petty criminals of the age, and when reading it I immediately though 'FAGIN!' What do you think?

'70. Gangs of gamblers and pickpockets are occasionally in the habit of travelling by the trains. Guards are particularly desired to make themselves acquainted with the individuals composing the gang; and having done so, to point them out to the passengers, station-masters, police, and porters, at every station the train stops at.

When the law cannot be brought to bear against these men, the object of every person must be to expose them.

Their tickets must be frequently examined; they must be watched at stations, and not allowed to enter on to the platform without having first purchased tickets. If there are more than one, they must all be locked up in one compartment, and never allowed to change carriages: and whenever they are discovered to be without tickets, or travelling beyond the station for which their tickets were issued, they must be removed from the train, and prosecuted before a magistrate for defrauding the company.

Ticket clerks must be cautious in receiving money from these men, as they endeavour to pass base coin and forged notes.'[1]

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[1] London School of Economics, HE1 (42)/221, Caledonian Railway: standing orders based on the rules and regulations of the company, and to be observed by the officers and men in the superintendent's department in the company's services, February 1863, p.30

'A Disgraceful Clergyman' (or not) - On a train - 1859

Erm...

'At Lambeth police court on Friday, a lady obtained a summons against "The incumbent of a large and influential parish in the metropolis and also a popular preacher for indecent behaviour towards her in a railway carriage.[1]

Apparently, he was a acquitted:

'...the charge was dismissed, in consequence of some levity in the woman's habits, and the clergyman, we believe, stands acquitted in the opinion of the religious society in which he was very highly esteemed.'[2]

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[1] The Preston Guardian etc., Saturday, November 26, 1859
[2] The Bury and Norwich Post, and Suffolk Herald, Tuesday, September 18, 1860

"The Guards have a Top Coat served out once a year" - Railway clothing 1848

Railway employee's working clothes in the Victorian period were usually provided by the company. However, because this was an expense for the companies, they were usually very precise in how much they provided to their employees, as demonstrated by these regulations from the Great Western Railway's rule book of 1848:

[1] The National Archives, RAIL 1134/148, General Instructions to Superintendents, Clerks, Guards, Policemen, Porters &c. &c. -1848

The Number of Railway Companeis in Britain 1830-1910

People are sometimes astounded when I tell them that in the Victorian period there were over a hundred railway companies in Britain. Therefore, I just thought I would share the figures, as shown on the left. A 'significant' railway company is defined as those that had gross receipts constituting 0.25 per cent or more of the industry total.[1]

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[1] Arnold, A.J. and McCartney, S. ‘Rates of return, concentration levels and strategic change in the British railway industry, 1830-1912’, Journal of Transport History, 26 (2005), p.50

LADIES ONLY - Carriage Compartment Label

From the late 1860s there was a general hysteria about the notion of women travelling alone in railway carriages and the possible risk of them being attacked. Because of this, in October 1874 the Metropolitan Railway introduced dedicated 'Ladies Only' compartments on all their trains. They were infrequently used, and after a few months the company had dispensed with them. From then on, all that most companies offered was the reservation of compartments for women on request, and the label above, placed in the window of a compartment, would designate it as such. If you would like to read more about 'Ladies Only' compartments, I wrote a whole blog post on the whole subject in April last year.

'Improved & Additional Express Service, London to Scotland'

This notice was found on the front page of the London and North Western Railway's public timetable from 1869. Promoting the company's 'Improved and Additional Express Service,' It was part of a very extended fight that the east and west coast main line railway companies had for passenger traffic to Scotland between the 1850s and the 1930s. Indeed, the late 1860s was just one period when competition got a bit more heated.

The few Railwaymen on Strike before 1870

While reading an article by P.W. Kingsford on railway labour relations between 1835 and 1875, I was surprised by the seemingly peaceful relationship between railway workers and their employers. Indeed, Kingsford's extensive trawl of railway companies' files only turned up ten examples of strike action in the period, as follows: 

 Of the strikes, nine were actions regarding wages, either asking for increases or preventing decreases, while one, the Eastern Counties Enginemen's strike of 1850, was against disciplinary fines. Only four succeeded. In 1848 London and North Western Enginmen secured an 'understanding' that after a reorganisation a reduction of wages would not take place. The year after, Midland Railway Goods Guards and Porters ensured a reduction of wages would not go ahead. In 1854, Porters on the London and North Western managed to win an increase in wages. Lastly, 1867, Enginmen secured a compromise in a 'right of appeal in promotion.' Curiously, Kingsford doesn't site whether this was secured in the case of the North Eastern or London, Brighton and South Coast Enginemen.[1]

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[1] Kingsford, P.W., 'Labour Relations on the Railways, 1835-1875', in Channon, Geoffrey, Railways Volume II: Studies in Transport History, (Aldershot, 1996), p.53

The Expected Politeness of Railway Officials - 1848 (N.B. To be read with an innocent mind)

I went off to The National Archives last week to photograph some early railway rule books. While I haven't finished reviewing them, this rule from the 1848 Great Western Railway rule book particularly interested me. Just a warning - you should really read it with an innocent mind ;)

The Cross-Border Archive Project

I was recently sent a link to The Cross-Border Archive Project by Rachel Moore, who I met that the Archives, Artefacts, Amateurs and Academics conference some weeks back. Starting in early 2007 and ending in June 2008, the project was a joint venture by the Newry & Mourne Museum and Louth County Archives Service to make available on-line documents regarding the history of Newry and Mourne in Northern Ireland and Louth in Ireland. Of particular interest to Rachel and I was the section covering documents from the Great Northern Railway, which crossed the border between the two regions.

The site contains sections on the history of the railway, its social impact, the company's works at Dundalk, the company's relationship with its employees and the trade it engaged in; all of which are accompanied by a fascinating array of images and documents. Naturally, my favourite image was that of the 'Great Northern Brewery private Siding'. However, I was also interested by a document providing details of the GNR's clerical exam from 1917. It stated that 'attention should be paid to grammar, spelling, punctuation and handwriting' of candidates when they submitted essays on one of the following four subjects: '(1) The necessity of tilling more land in Ireland', '(2) Modern inventions used in War', '(3) The game of football - its uses and abuses', and '(4) An honest man is the noblest work of God.'

Ultimately, there are many interesting things to look at and learn about on the site and I really recommend a look.

The Duties of Gate-keepers - 1848

I write this from inside The National Archives. Gosh, I love it here. Anyway, I have decided to take a day to work here on some things that simply interest me. As many of you are aware, I have a fervent interest in rule books. Currently in front on me is the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway's 1848 'Regulations to be observed by the company's servants employed in the Executive Department.' I could have chosen a vast number of instructions to quote, but I chose those pertaining to gate-keepers, as  they were pretty concise and summed up the job well.

96. Each gateman will be provided with Day and Night Signals, which he must keep in proper order, and always in readiness for use.
97. The gates to be always kept shut across the road, except when required to be opened to allow the Railway to be crossed.
98. Whenever the Railway is required to be crossed, the Gateman shall, before opening the Gate, satisfy himself that the Train is not in sight, he shall then show his Stop Signal, and in all cases allow it to remain until the Railway is properly clear; he must then close the Gates and alter the Signal.

"Cursing" a Magistrate by a Clergyman [at a station]

Occasionally, I just search nineteenth century newspapers on-line to see what interesting stories come out. Indeed, when I came across this one from 1852 I just had to reproduce it.

'A most extraordinary, novel, and exciting scene was witnessed at the Flordon Station on Saturday evening. When the five o'clock train from Norwich arrived there, the passengers were much surprised at seeing the Rev. Mr Moore, the curate of the parish, standing in the passage of the station-house, dressed in his canonicals. It was, however, soon understood that he was waiting there to "curse" a neighbouring magistrate, who was expected by the train; and who had given him some presumed offence. When the individual alluded to was giving up his ticket to the station porter, the rev. gentleman thus addressed him:- "I inflict a curse upon this man. I curse you; I curse your wife; I curse your children; I curse all you have - may your children be fatherless and vagabonds and beg their bread," &c.; and thus he went until the "cursed man" drove off. We understand that the matter has been laid before the Bishop; and that the rev. gentleman, in default of finding sureties to keep the peace, was committed to the Castle, by Edward Howes esq.'[1]

On first reading, I considered it didn't actually have much to do with the railways, and had more to do with one man's gripe against another. However, the more I thought about it, the more I realised that it actually said something about how Victorian society was transformed by the railways' arrival. Twenty years before this event the clergyman wouldn't have known precisely what time the magistrate would be due to arrive in town, and probably would have had to wait until it was confirmed he had arrived to conduct his bazaar act. Yet, with the invention of the railways, the timetable showed precisely the time the magistrate was due to arrive, and the clergyman would only have to turn up to meet the train. Therefore, in some respects the railways regimented Victorian society, making the clock the master.

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[1] Caledonian Mercury, Thursday, April 1, 1852

Cannon Street Station in 1866

On the 1 September 1866 the South Eastern Railway opened its Cannon Street Station. This image, from the Illustrated London News a week later, shows the two turrets at its entrance that were designed by John Hawkshaw and which the Daily News described as having a 'very imposing appearance'.[1] It occupied a site that had previously been steel yards and the wharfs of the Victoria Dock Company.[2]

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[1] Daily News, Monday, 3 September, 1866
[2] The Pall Mall Gazette, Saturday, 1 September, 1866

"When greyhound or other large dogs are booked by a train..."

I found this interesting instruction in a Caledonian Rule book from 1863. If you would like to know a bit more about the transportation of dogs by rail in the Victorian era, I wrote a whole post on the topic last year. However, there seems to have been very little written on the topic, so I am open to expanding my knowledge on it.

When greyhound or other large dogs are booked by a train, and they can neither be placed in the carriage boots, nor chained in the van, they must be locked in the compartment  of a second or third class Caledonian local carriage, with their attendants and not where there are other passengers. If "booked through," they can be changed at the terminal station.

GNR 'Conditions of Admission to the Service' for new clerks- 1856 - Part 2

On Thursday I presented the first half of the Great Northern Railway's 'Conditions of Admission to the Service' for new clerks from 1856, which I found in a rule book for station masters. While that half dealt principally with wages, the second half was where potential clerks' conditions of service, qualifications and security were discussed, as follows:

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7. A candidate as a Clerk will undergo a strict examination as to his qualifications, in proportion to his age; he will be required to show a good hand-writing, suited for accounts and correspondence, and that he has a competent knowledge of mercantile arithmetic; and he must be in a good state of health.

The candidate must, on attending at the Secretary's office to be examined, produce testimonials of character.

In the case of an Experienced Clerk; and of a Junior Clerk who has been before employed - 

      1. From his last employer.
      2. One from each of two housekeepers of undoubted respectability.

In the case of a Lad Clerk; and of a Junior clerk who has NOT  been before employed -

      1. From the head master of the school at which he has been educated.
      2. One from each of his two housekeepers of undoubted respectability.

The nomination, with particulars of the examination and testimonials, will be submitted to the directors on the candidate appearing before them, and who will decide whether he be qualified and a proper person to be appointed.

The name of a Clerk, on appointment, will be added to a list, from which he will be summoned in turn for duty as a vacancy occurs, provided he has in the meantime, given security; but should he, on being summoned, refuse or neglect to join, his name will be struck out of the list, and he cannot afterwards be re-admitted to the service.

A Clerk must, immediately on appointment, give security to the amount of two years' salary, or in not less that £100, through the medium of one of the undermentioned Guarantee Societies; and he cannot subsequently, under any pretence whatever, be allowed to change from the society first selected, viz:-

The Guarantee Society, 19, Birchin Land City;
The British Guarantee Association, 9, Waterloo Place, Pall Mall;
The Times Life Assurance and Guarantee Company, 32, Ludgate Hill;
The United Guarantee and Life Assurance Company, 36, Old Jewery, City;
The United Service and General Life Assurance and Guarantee Association, 20,                                                   Cockspur Street, Charing Cross

The Railway Company pays the premium in the case of a Clerk whose salary does not exceed 21s. per week with, or 25s. per week without allowances.

GNR 'Conditions of Admission to the Service' for new clerks- 1856 - Part 1

As many of you are aware, I have a number of obsessions when it comes to railway history. Clerks are one, and rule books are another (Beer trains are also high on the list - naturally). Therefore, imagine the joy I had when flicking through my Great Northern Railway rule book from 1856, when I came a cross the 'Conditions of Admission to the Service' for all the company's new clerks. Two obsessions satisfied in one place - I couldn't ask for more. The first part of the 'conditions' were related to the clerks' pay, as follows:-

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1.Candidates for employment can join the service only in one of the following classes, viz
           Experienced Clerk Class. - Nominated by the General Manager
           Junior Clerk and Lad Clerk Class -Nominated by the Directors in turn

2. Experienced Clerks. - A candidate as an Experienced Clerk must posses railway experience, or experience in other traffic equivalent thereto.
          The salary not exceeding £80 per annum, is fixed on appointment.

3. Junior Clerks. - A candidate as a Junior Clerk must have attained 18, and must not exceed 23 years of age.
The salary on appointment, and -

For the 1st Year is ...               ...                21s per week
     "      2nd           ...               ...               22s       "
     "      3rd           ...               ...                23s       "
     "      4th           ...               ...                24s       "
     "      5th, and until promoted                   25s       "

If employed in London, but during such employment only, 4s a week are allowed in addition to the salary.

A Junior Clerk is eligible for promotion only on a vacancy occurring, and upon the head of the department in which he has been employed, and the General Manager, recommending him as qualified to fill the same.

4. Lad Clerks. - A candidate as Lad Clerk must have attained 15, and must not exceed 18, years of age.

The salary on appointment, and -


For the 1st Year is ...               ...                10s per week
     "      2nd           ...               ...               11s       "
     "      3rd           ...               ...                13s       "
     "      4th, and until promoted                   16s       "

A Lad clerk is ineligible for promotion to be a Junior Clerk until he is 18 years of age, and then only upon a vacancy occurring, and upon the head of the department in which he has been employed, and the General Manager, recommending him as qualified to fill the same.

5. All Clerks, without reference to their standing in the service, are allowed 4s a week, in addition to their pay, when employed wholly on night duty.

6. Written application at the end of year of service must be made to the directors through the medium of the superintendent of the line, or chief of the department in which the Clerk is engaged, for the authorised increase of salary, and failing such application at the proper time, increased pay will be allowed only from the date of which it is eventually made. This rule applies also to the Police and Porters.


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Part 2 to come on Saturday